Nehemiah Persoff
| birth_place = Jerusalem, Mandatory Palestine | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1947–1999 | spouse = Thia Persoff (1951–present) | children = 4 | residence = Cambria, California, U.S. | signature = }} Nehemiah Persoff (born August 2, 1919) is an American retired actor. He appeared in more than 200 television series, films and plays in his career spanning 52 years. Early life Born in Jerusalem, Persoff emigrated with his family to the United States in 1929 and graduated from the Hebrew Technical Institute in 1937.https://www.flickr.com/photos/sakraft1/6466940765/ After serving in the United States Army during World War II, he worked as a subway electrician, maintaining signals while he began to pursue his acting career in the New York theater. In 1947, he was accepted into the Actors Studio , and was one of the 26 members of the beginners' class taught by Elia Kazan, along with James Whitmore and Julie Harris. He began his acting career in 1948. Acting career One of his first notable roles was as the gangster boss "Little Bonaparte", a parody of Benito MussoliniJeffrey Meyers: The Genius and the Goddess: Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe. ''University of Illinois Press, 2010, , p. 193. in Billy Wilder's film classic ''Some Like It Hot (1959). He also appeared in supporting roles in films such as The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) and The Comancheros (1961). In the film Yentl (1983), Persoff portrayed the father of Barbra Streisand's character. He appeared in the comedy film Twins (1988), and in the American Tail animated-film series as Papa Mousekewitz. His last movie was 4 Faces (1999), which was the last film to be directed by Ted Post. His many television credits include Five Fingers ("The Moment of Truth"), The Big Valley ("Legend of a General", Parts I & II, episode), Alfred Hitchcock Presents ("Heart of Gold" episode), The Twilight Zone ("Judgment Night"), The Untouchables, Naked City, Route 66 (two episodes), Seaway ("Last Voyage" episode, 1965), The Legend of Jesse James, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Gunsmoke, Gilligan's Island, The Wild Wild West, The High Chaparral ("Fiesta" episode, 1970), Hawaii Five-O (7 episodes), Ellery Queen ("The Adventure of the Pharaoh's Curse" episode), Mission: Impossible (3 episodes), Adam-12 ("Vendetta" episode), The Mod Squad and Barney Miller (2 different characters in a total of 3 episodes). In the mid-1980s, when health problems decreased his acting workload, Persoff pursued painting, specializing in watercolor. Personal life He retired from acting in 1999 and devoted full-time to his painting. He currently lives with his wife, Thia, in Cambria, California. They have four children. TV and film roles *''On the Waterfront'' (1954) as Cab Driver (uncredited) *''The Harder They Fall'' (1956) as Leo *''The Wild Party'' (1956) as Kicks Johnson *''The Wrong Man'' (1956) as Gene Conforti *''Men in War'' (1957) as Sgt. Lewis *''Mayerling'' (1957, TV Series) as Strup *''Street of Sinners'' (1957) as Leon *''This Angry Age'' (1957) as Albert *''The Badlanders'' (1958) as Vincente - The Powder Monkey *''Never Steal Anything Small'' (1959) as Pinelli *''Some Like It Hot'' (1959) as Little Bonaparte *''Green Mansions'' (1959) as Don Panta *''Al Capone'' (1959) as Johnny Torrio *''The Untouchables'' (1959-1963, TV Series) as Jake Guzik / Merritt Griffin / Berco Romanu / Dominic Venussi / Carlos Ruldan / Max Evar / Barney Peters *''Day of the Outlaw'' (1959) as Dan - Starret's Foreman *''The Twilight Zone'' (1959, TV Series) as Carl Lanser *''Thriller'' (1961, TV Series) as Lt. Jim Wagner *''The Comancheros'' (1961) as Graile *''The Hook'' (1963) as Capt. Van Ryn *''Rawhide'' (1963-1964, TV Series) as Michob / Domingo *''The Tenderfoot'' (1964, TV Series, for Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color) *''Fate Is the Hunter'' (1964) as Ben Sawyer *''The Greatest Story Ever Told'' (1965) as Shemiah *''Mr. Novak'' (1965, TV Series) as Henry Selkirk *''Seaway'' (1965, TV Series) as Montagna *''Gilligan's Island'' (1965, TV Series) as Pancho Hernando Gonzalez Enriques Rodriguez *''The Wild Wild West'' (1965-1968, TV Series) as Major Hazard / Adam Barclay / Gen. Andreas Cassinello *''Gunsmoke'' (1965-1975, TV Series) as Alejo Etchahoun / Ben Rando / Tim Driscoll / Alex Skouras / Mr. Dano / Jack Pinto *''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1966, TV Series) as Dobbs *''The Time Tunnel'' (1966, TV Series) as Prof. Anton Biraki *''Too Many Thieves'' (1967) as Georgi *''The Money Jungle'' (1967) as Lt. Dow Reeves *''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968-1979, TV Series) as Allie Francis / Victor Palua / Cordell / Leo Paoli / Winkler / Harry Cardonus *''Panic in the City'' (1968) as August Best *''The Name of the Game'' (1968, TV Series) as Ambassador *''The Day of the Owl'' (Il giorno della civetta) (1968) as Pizzuco *''The Power'' (1968) as Prof. Carl Melnicker *''Land of the Giants'' (1969, TV Series) as Titus *''The Bill Cosby Show'' (1969, TV Series) as Mr. Byron *''The Girl Who Knew Too Much'' (1969) as Lieutenant Miles Crawford *''The Mod Squad'' (1969-1972, TV Series) as Nick Master / Sgt. Harry MacGeorge / Janos Kovacs *''Marcus Welby, M.D.'' (1969-1975, TV Series) as Max Behrman/Nick Kolinski/Nat Bader *''Mrs. Pollifax-Spy'' (1970) as Berisha *''The People Next Door'' (1970) as Dr. Salazar *''The High Chaparral'' (1970, TV Series) as Homero José *''Red Sky at Morning'' (1971) as Amadeo Montoya *''Lapin 360'' (1972) *''Adam-12'' (1972, TV Series) as Angelo Covelli *''Mannix'' (1972, TV Series) as Anton Wojeska *''McCloud'' (1973-1977, TV Series) as Tereshkov / Perry Cicero *''The Stranger Within'' (1974, TV Movie) as Dr. Edward Klein *''The Missiles of October'' (1974, TV Movie) as Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko *''McMillan & Wife'' (1974, TV Series) as Clementa Habib *''Psychic Killer'' (1975) as Dr. Gubner *''Columbo'' (1976, TV Series) as Jesse Jerome *''Voyage of the Damned'' (1976) as Mr. Hauser *''The Six Million Dollar Man'' (1977, TV Series) as Major Popov *''Hunter'' (1977, TV Series) as Sheik Farakbi *''Deadly Harvest'' (1977) as Mort Logan *''Quincy, M.E.'' (1977, TV Series) as Matt Dorsey *''Barney Miller'' (1978-1981, TV Series) as Yacov Berger / Carl Simms *''Charlie's Angels'' (1977, TV Series) as Anton Metzger *''Logan's Run'' (1978, TV Series) as Asa *''Little House on the Prairie'' (1978, TV Series) as Mr. Olaf Lundstrom *''The Word'' (1978, TV Mini-Series) as Abbot Petropolous *''The Rebels'' (1979, TV Movie) as Baron Von Steuben *''The French Atlantic Affair'' (1979, TV Mini-Series) as Col. Schreiner *''Battlestar Galactica'' (1979, TV Series) as Eastern Alliance Leader *''Condominium'' (1980, TV Movie) as Conlaw *''St. Helens'' (1981) as Mr. Ellison *''O'Hara's Wife'' (1982) as Doctor Fischer *''Sadat'' (1983, TV Series) as Leonid Brezhnev *''Yentl'' (1983) as Reb Mendel 'Papa' *''Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1984, TV Series) as Brobich'' *''Magnum, P.I.'' (episode "Torah, Torah, Torah") (1985, TV Series) as Rabbi Asher SolomonDVD Collection *''Highway to Heaven (1986 TV Series)"Summit" as deputy premier Andrey malinoff'' *''The Facts of Life'' (1986, TV Series) as Sam *''An American Tail'' (1986) as Papa Mousekewitz (voice) *''The Last Temptation of Christ'' (1988) as Rabbi *''Twins'' (1988) as Mitchell Traven *''MacGyver'' (1989, TV Series) as Sam Bolinski *''L.A. Law'' (1990, TV Series) as Rabbi Isadore Glickman *''Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1990, TV Series) as Toff *''Murder, She Wrote'' (1990, TV Series) as Constantin Stavros *''An American Tail: Fievel Goes West'' (1991) as Papa Mousekewitz (voice) *''Doogie Howser, M.D.'' (1992, TV Series) as Max Wernick *''Reasonable Doubts'' (1993, TV Series) as Klaus Reichel *''Law & Order'' (1993, TV Series) as David Steinmetz *''Chicago Hope'' (1995, TV Series) as Rabbi Ben Taubler *''Tracey Takes On...'' (1996, TV Series) as Grandfather *''An American Tail: The Treasure of Manhattan Island'' (1998) as Papa Mousekewitz (voice) *''An American Tail: The Mystery of the Night Monster'' (1999) as Papa Mousekewitz (voice) *''4 Faces'' (1999) (final film role) References External links * * * Nehemiah Persoff Paintings Category:1919 births Category:Living people Category:American people of Jewish descent Category:American male film actors Category:American male television actors Category:American male painters Category:American army personnel of World War II Category:20th-century American painters Category:21st-century American painters Category:Artists from New York City Category:Palestinian emigrants to the United States Category:Electricians Category:Jews in Mandatory Palestine Category:Jewish American male actors Category:Jewish painters Category:Male actors from Jerusalem Category:United States Army soldiers Category:Western (genre) television actors